A review of neurological support for universal design for learning

Abstract

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an educational framework designed to optimize learning opportunities by increasing accessibility for all students. The organization CAST has created guidelines for UDL implementation, which they claim are based on neuroscientific research about specific regions of the brain. This study systematically reviewed the neuroscientific research cited on the CAST website to support their guidelines. Results showed that the guidelines were not supported by neuroscience. Only 1% of the 1442 unique sources cited by CAST represented neuroscience and 75% of the UDL guidelines had no neuroscientific sources. The neuroscientific sources cited by CAST mostly demonstrated activity across multiple brain regions, which contradicts their proposed alignment of guidelines with three distinct brain areas. Only one source had direct implications for the educational practices in its associated UDL guideline. Most sources simply showed that the brain was active when people engage in activities mentioned in the guidelines. A secondary review of the research literature using a scholarly database produced no examples of neuroscientific studies about UDL. This review suggests that UDL’s policies cannot accurately be portrayed as having a basis in neuroscience. Given the absence of evidence, neuroscientific claims about UDL should end.